Description
Hand-writing WiX XML until your eyes blur, or scripting NSIS and hoping you did not miss an uninstall step, while an MSI has more Windows Installer rules than anyone remembers. Advanced Installer packs those rules into a ribbon-style GUI: pick a node in the resource tree, fill in the form, and the output is a valid MSI. Files, shortcuts, registry keys, environment variables and fonts are all ticks and fields, with no low-level tables to touch.
The official site offers a no-cost Freeware edition, delivered in the same full package, and the free part already covers basic installers: upgrade detection, 64-bit builds, merge modules, launch conditions and per-user or per-machine installs. It can import existing projects from Visual Studio, WiX, Inno Setup and NSIS as well as plain MSI files, and it builds from the command line or PowerShell in pipelines such as Jenkins and MSBuild. Advanced features like MSIX, code signing and auto-updates need a paid edition.
Visual MSI authoring: builds installers that respect Windows Installer rules, with files and folders, shortcuts, registry entries, environment variables and font registration all set in the GUI
Upgrades and side-by-side: detects and upgrades an older version on the user machine, blocks installs over a newer one, and can build versions that install side by side
Project import: imports from Visual Studio, InstallShield LE, WiX, Eclipse, Inno Setup, NSIS and plain MSI or MSM packages, so you do not rebuild from scratch
Launch conditions and merge modules: set the requirements a package needs before it runs, such as a framework or app, and bundle libraries and runtimes as merge modules
64-bit and install scope: one project builds setups for 32-bit and 64-bit processors, installing per user or per machine, with the choice left to administrators
Command line and scripting: create and configure projects with command line or PowerShell commands and plug into Make, Ant, TeamCity, Jenkins or MSBuild builds
Templates and XML projects: save the current project as a template for later, and keep the XML project files in version control for team work
Run and log: launch the built MSI right away while the full Windows Installer log is pretty printed beside it
The official site offers a no-cost Freeware edition, delivered in the same full package, and the free part already covers basic installers: upgrade detection, 64-bit builds, merge modules, launch conditions and per-user or per-machine installs. It can import existing projects from Visual Studio, WiX, Inno Setup and NSIS as well as plain MSI files, and it builds from the command line or PowerShell in pipelines such as Jenkins and MSBuild. Advanced features like MSIX, code signing and auto-updates need a paid edition.
Features
Visual MSI authoring: builds installers that respect Windows Installer rules, with files and folders, shortcuts, registry entries, environment variables and font registration all set in the GUI
Upgrades and side-by-side: detects and upgrades an older version on the user machine, blocks installs over a newer one, and can build versions that install side by side
Project import: imports from Visual Studio, InstallShield LE, WiX, Eclipse, Inno Setup, NSIS and plain MSI or MSM packages, so you do not rebuild from scratch
Launch conditions and merge modules: set the requirements a package needs before it runs, such as a framework or app, and bundle libraries and runtimes as merge modules
64-bit and install scope: one project builds setups for 32-bit and 64-bit processors, installing per user or per machine, with the choice left to administrators
Command line and scripting: create and configure projects with command line or PowerShell commands and plug into Make, Ant, TeamCity, Jenkins or MSBuild builds
Templates and XML projects: save the current project as a template for later, and keep the XML project files in version control for team work
Run and log: launch the built MSI right away while the full Windows Installer log is pretty printed beside it
